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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Sad day personally for me....




Today would have been my father's 71st birthday, unfortunately he passed away last year and this is the first time for all of us without him. I miss him tremendously but I know that he is at peace and he is always with me. My son misses him as my dad would always play with him and joke with him on the phone. I just pray for my mom today, as I know she will feel even more pain than I do as they were married for almost 40 years. I just ask God to give us the strength to deal with the pain of him not being here. I loved my dad and I miss talking to him and having him encourage me and give me fatherly advice with my own kids.




I love you dad!!!! Happy Birthday




Your son,




James

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Cool Space Pics

Supernova


The Hand of God

The Eye of God








Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Miami Dolphins 09 Schedule

Wow, what a brutal schedule for the fish. Regardless... I am a fan for life... Go DOLPHINS!!!!

Sept. 13 at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Sept. 21 Indianapolis, 8:30 p.m.
Sept. 27 at San Diego, 4:15 p.m.
Oct. 4 Buffalo, 4:05 p.m.
Oct. 12 N.Y. Jets, 8:30 p.m.
Oct. 18 BYE
Oct. 25 New Orleans, 4:15 p.m.
Nov. 1 at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Nov. 8 at New England, 1 p.m.
Nov. 15 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Nov. 19 at Carolina, 8:20 p.m.
Nov. 29 at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Dec. 6 New England, 8:20 p.m.
Dec. 13 at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Dec. 27 Houston, 1 p.m.
Jan. 3 Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Jobs Rate Soars to levels not seen since 1983




Times are tough and we need to be more careful how we spend our money, even after this recession is over. I have begun to analyize how my spending and how I can cut back. This story is very disturbing and I hope that those jobless find something soon.

Jobless rate soars to 8.5 percent in March
Unemployment rate highest since late 1983; 663,000 jobs lost
The Associated Press
updated 10:01 a.m. ET, Fri., April. 3, 2009

The nation's unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since late 1983, as a wide swath of employers eliminated 663,000 jobs. It's fresh evidence of the toll the recession has inflicted on America's workers, and economists say there's no relief in sight.

If part-time and discouraged workers are factored in, the unemployment rate would have been 15.6 percent in March, the highest on records dating to 1994, according to Labor Department data released Friday.

The average work week in March dropped to 33.2 hours, a new record low.

"It's an ugly report and April is going to be equally as bad," predicted Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

Last month's tally of job losses was slightly higher than the 654,000 that economists expected. The rise in the unemployment rate matched expectations.

Employers cut 651,000 jobs in February when the jobless rate was 8.1 percent, the same as initially estimated. January's job losses, however, were revised much higher, to 741,000 from 655,000.

Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 5.1 million jobs, with almost two-thirds of the losses occurring in the last five months.

The number of unemployed people climbed to 13.2 million in March. In addition, the number of people forced to work part time for "economic reasons" rose by 423,000 to 9 million. Those are people who would like to work full time but whose hours were cut back or were unable to find full-time work.

Looking forward, economists expect monthly job losses continuing for most — if not all of — this year.

However, they are hoping that payroll reductions in the current quarter won't be as deep as the roughly 685,000 average monthly job losses in the January-March period.

In the best-case scenario, employment losses in the present quarter would be about half that pace, some economists said. That scenario partly assumes the economy won't be shrinking nearly as much in the present quarter.

The deterioration in the jobs market comes despite a few hopeful signs recently that the recession — now the longest since World War II — could be easing.

Orders placed with U.S. factories actually rose in February, ending a six straight months of declines, the government reported Thursday. Earlier in the week, there was better-than-expected reports on construction spending and pending home sales. And last week a report showed that consumer spending — an engine of the economy — rose in February for the second month in a row — after a half-year of declines.

But as the economic downturn eats into their sales and profits, companies are laying off workers and resorting to other cost-saving measures. Those include holding down hours, and freezing or cutting pay, to survive the storm.

Job losses were widespread last month. Construction companies cut 126,000 jobs. Factories axed 161,000. Retailers got rid of nearly 50,000. Professional and business services eliminated 133,000. Leisure and hospitality reduced employment by 40,000. Even the government cut jobs — 5,000 of them.

Education and health care were the few industries showing any job gains.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession could end later this year, setting the stage for a recovery next year, if the government is successful in bolstering the banking system. Banks have been clobbered by the worst housing, credit and financial crises to hit the country since the 1930s.

Even if the recession ends this year, the economy will remain frail, analysts said. Companies will have little appetite to ramp up hiring until they feel the economy is truly out of the woods and any recovery has staying power.

Given that, many economists predict the unemployment rate will hit 10 percent at the end of this year. The Fed says unemployment will remain elevated into 2011.

Economists say the job market may not get back to normal — meaning a 5 percent unemployment rate — until 2013.

"There's going to quite a long haul before you see the jobless rate head down," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services.

To brace the economy, the Fed has slashed a key bank lending rate to an all-time low and has embarked on a series of radical programs to inject billions of dollars into the financial system.

And the Obama administration had launched a multi-pronged strategy to turn the economy around. Its $787 billion stimulus package includes money that will flow to states for public works projects, help them defray budget cuts, extend unemployment benefits and boost food stamp benefits.

The administration also is counting on programs to prop up financial companies and reduce home foreclosures to help turn the economy around.

Still, skittish employers announced more job layoffs this week.

3M Co., the maker of Scotch tape, Post-It Notes and other products, said it's cutting another 1,200 jobs, or 1.5 percent of its work force, because of the global economic slump. Fewer than half the jobs will be in the U.S., but include hundreds in its home state of Minnesota. The 1,200 figure includes cuts made earlier in the first quarter.

Elsewhere, healthcare products distributor Cardinal Health Inc. said it would eliminate 1,300 positions, or about 3 percent of its work force, and semiconductor equipment maker KLA-Tencor Corp. said it will cut about 600 jobs, or 10 percent of its employees.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Good News!!!

Both my mom and my father-in-law are doing well. My mom had a "growth" removed from her breast but the doctors think it is scar tissue from a previous operation. She did have breast cancer some years ago but was able to defeat it with therapy. 

My father-in-law is thankfully awake and alert. He did have a few complication but he passed the danger zone and now seems to be coming back to life. 

It is truly God's work watching and healing my family and I am ever so grateful for everything I have and that our family is still intact.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Happy Birthday Mom!!!


Happy Birthday to my mom, who is in Lee's Summit, MO, enjoying the cold weather. I hope you have a wonderful day and know that I love you for all that you have done for me.



Tough Times but we must never forget that God is in control!!!

These days are very tough for me and my family right now. As an independent contractor and entreprenuer, it has been a long road filled with many setbacks and now with a bad economy. Thanks to God, we have been provided with what we need to survive and live a comfortable life. 

I am praying for my father in-law, Claudio, who is currently in the hospital dealing with a variety of ailments. I am faithful that he is in God's hands and he will come out of this better than ever. Unfortunately, this brings up the painful memory of the loss of my father last year. This is a rough time for my wife and I will support her in any way she requires.

Here is my prayer:

Lord, please place your healing hand and bless a man who truly loves you. He is a man of faith, a father, husband and grandfather who is still full of life. I pray that you heal him just as Jesus healed many during his time here on earth. Nothing is impossible for you and thanks to the teachings of my pastor I can pray for the big things and know that nothing is too great for you handle.